


The Lucky and The Strong

by annelea



Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Difference, Character Death, F/M, Major Character Injury, Miscarriage, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Seizures, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 04:08:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10267904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annelea/pseuds/annelea
Summary: Ino looked up from her book, the silent figure coming into view startling her.  He was covered in blood that wasn't his own, looking both lost and desperate as he held up the single rose."It's free, Hatake-sama."





	1. It's Free

**Author's Note:**

> This is a complete (90%) re-write of a re-write of a re-write of a story that's plagued me for almost ten years.

Hatake Kakashi didn't know why he was here. He just knew that it was socially expected that he bring his hurt friend flowers.

Hurt was such a trivial word compared to what he'd just witnessed.

Hurt didn't begin to cover the type of pain in her eyes, in her raw voice, in the way she'd cradled her abdomen with clearly broken wrists, a dislocated shoulder, a shattered thigh, her skin more dark bruise than the creamy hue he was used to seeing.

Hurt didn't even touch what he'd done to the man who'd put her in that position. Crippled came close, but still wasn't enough.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he focused again on the door to the flower shop before him. The sun's rays reflected off the glass, stinging his eyes. He'd spent hours in the hospital, waiting, wondering, only to be sent away by the nurses under threat of being examined himself.

Deciding he really should take a look at the selection, Kakashi reached out a blood encrusted hand and opened the door. Was there really blood there? Was this just one of his nightmares projecting into his waking state? He wasn't sure. Sleep was a luxury abandoned two or three days ago.

With a sigh, he decided to just get a shower when he got home. That would solve the problem if there really was blood on him. If there wasn't, he could still probably use one.

Calling up what little he remembered of color associations (since he didn't know anything about flower meanings themselves), he searched out anything yellow or orange. There were daffodils, sunflowers, and daisies. None of them really made any sense to him, so he moved on to the large assortment of colored roses. Trying to remember how much money he still had on him, he plucked one single rose, a bright yellow with red at the tips of each petal, and walked to the counter.

He came to a stop rather short of the counter, though, when he saw who was standing by the register.

Yamanaka Ino looked up from her book, eyes quickly taking in his appearance. She seemed to read him better than he could himself as he lifted up the rose in silent question.

"It's free, Hatake-sama," she spoke quietly, almost fearfully.

He bowed his thanks stiffly and turned for the door.

"And, Kakashi-sensei," Ino stopped him, slipping into her old way of addressing him by accident. Her voice stuttered a little, "Have you heard from Sakura? She should have been back by now, but...?"

His eyes pinched closed tightly. He had to force himself to speak, though he couldn't look her direction. "This is for her."


	2. Go See Her

"Where the _hell_ have you been?"

Yeah, when Tenzo didn't call him "senpai," there was good reason.  Kakashi should have expected this, though.  Technically, as head of ANBU, Tenzo was, also, the head of security for the Hokage.

"You haven't set foot into nor sent word to this office or myself in four days!"

"Four?" Kakashi looked at the other man quizzically.  "I thought I was only gone for two, and then I took yesterday off.  Huh... funny how not sleeping for days on end can mess with a person's ability to measure time..."

"Where.  Have.  You.  Been?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes now.  "Sakura is back in town.  Maybe you should go visit her."

Tenzo's jaw dropped.  It still wasn't a direct answer, but he got the message.  "How?  None of the search parties, your pack, or even Naruto was able to locate her!  Where is she?"

"Sleeping it off in the hospital," Kakashi answered, brushing by him now to actually enter the office itself.  His shoulders slumped at the sight of piles of paperwork sitting on the large desk.  Was there a centimeter of space left open?  Probably not.

Tenzo continued to fire off questions Kakashi didn't want to hear.  He was sure there was some sort of list of demands mixed in, but he ignored it all in favor of pulling out a form from the desk's bottom right drawer.  These forms used to sit in the center drawer, at the top of everything, when Sarutobi Hiruzen held the title of Hokage.  Senju Tsunade kept them in the top left drawer, half way back.  For Kakashi, though, they barely saw the light of day.  Today, he actually had to dig them out from the back of the stack of files.

The hospital would take care of the paperwork concerning Sakura and send him copies of what he would need to pass on to another department where they would be sent into her permanent file.  This form was not for the living, nor the barely living.  This form was for the dead.  This form was for reporting whom the Hokage had killed in battle while holding office.  Copies would be sent to many other places for filing away.  These days, copies would also be sent to the head of whatever nation the enemy combatant originally belonged to if it was not one of Fire's own, for which there was a different form all together.

Right now, he had to play fill-in-the-blank on a form that would eventually make it's way to Iwa.  He certainly had a lot of questions right now.  First, he'd have to make some statements.  Yes, he had killed active Iwa shinobi.  Reason?  They had found a way to poison a poisons expert, and then proceeded to nearly kill her.

The medics were having a hard time healing her.  Whatever was in her system actively suppressed Sakura's own chakra and rejected anything chakra related the medics tried to use on her.  Her only options to hopefully recover were drugs, harsh re-setting of bone, casts, and rest.

Shizune put off her vacation to personally take Sakura's case.

"Oh, so, not only did you find her, you had to go and kill people?" Tenzo plopped into a chair across from Kakashi.  "You do realize that you killing people is a huge political move these days, right?"

"You do realize that attempted murder of our best medic-nin, personal friend of Uzumaki Naruto, girlfriend of Uchiha Sasuke, student of the Godaime Hokage, and pioneer in children's mental health is, also, a very overt political move, don't you?"

"Sakura can take care of herself, you shouldn't worry-"

"Go see her, kohai," Kakashi spoke lowly.  "Just go see her.  Leave me alone.  I have work to do."


	3. Going Home

Sakura stood up on her right leg, keeping the left one bent so as not to jar it or put pressure on the still hardening cast. Securing the clip over her chest from her back pack, she closed her locker. Looking back at the bench, Sakura wondered how to carry her delicate gift home. Putting it inside her bag was not an option. It would wilt from the heat almost instantly when she walked out the door. Trying to carry it in her hand would ruin the stem and kill it's vase life once she got home. She could stick it down her cleavage, but that was just inviting the wrong kind of attention. The only other option was her mouth, but then she wouldn't be able to talk to anybody she was bound to run into on the way home. Since working in the hospital for so many years, more people knew her on sight than she could remember. Good for a medic, bad for a Jonin in the field.

"Hey, Forehead, how are you?"

Sakura turned to see her oldest friend/rival.  "I don't want to talk about it, Pig...  I can't even figure out where this came from."

"Oh, that?" Ino looked at the familiar yellow rose.  Kakashi had been by once every three days for a new one to replace the wilting one by Sakura's bedside.

"Yeah.  They just appeared in my room.  Always one.  Always replaced when the other was looking a bit sad."

"I gave him the first one for free... and probably about eight more," Ino smiled at her.

"What?  Who?  Is Sasuke back?" Sakura's face lit up in hope.

"Nope," Ino shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips.  "Hatake-sama," Ino answered with a shrug, "but he looked like he'd just gone through a war or two before coming into the shop. Does he not understand that the Hokage isn't supposed to be doing everything he used to in the field or something?"

Sakura went quiet.  She'd heard about Kakashi being seen in the waiting room looking like hell the same day she was admitted.  She had wondered if he had anything to do with finding her, and now she had her answer.  She had another answer, too, and she didn't like it.  Her mission was supposed to have lasted two weeks.  She had been gone for six, they told her, before she was brought into the hospital on death's door.  In that amount of time, Sasuke would have been notified of her status as missing, he would have been notified of her condition in the hospital.  He didn't come.

Instead, it was Kakashi who brought her home; Kakashi threw the rule book out the window to come after her in the first place; Kakashi kept tabs on her progress, and Kakashi was the one to make sure she always had a fresh flower in her room, a little touch of outside life to brighten her mood.

Not much could brighten her mood over the past month in recovery.  There were days she wanted to shred the flowers, make her way down the hall to an unguarded medicine locker, and find something fast acting to inject herself with, something they wouldn't be able to save her from.

"Hey, Sakura, I'm talking to you here!" Ino tapped her on the head with a pen. "I asked if you wanted me to help you carry anything."  
  
Sakura snapped back to reality. "Could you help me with the flower?"  
  
Ino smiled and reached into her locker. Pulling out a scroll, she commented, "You'd never believe how many people get flowers but forget vases and water."  
  
Sakura watched as Ino released a vase from the scroll. It was pre-filled with water. A little farther into the scroll, Ino released one of many packets of nutrients to pour inside. The blond worked quickly to tear open the packet, mix it with the water, angle a cut on the stem of the rose, and drop it inside. With a spare scrap of paper, Ino made an impromptu sealing scroll and placed the vase, flower, and mixed water all inside before dropping it into Sakura's backpack.  
  
"I can't actually walk with you. I've still got another four hours on my shift," Ino informed the curious Sakura, "but I can release it at your place later if you want."  
  
"I've seen how you do it, Ino," Sakura smiled. "I can manage.  Thank you."  
  
"Sakura," Ino closed her locker and took a swig of bottled water, "just promise me you will tell me what happened. And, can I tell your sensei off for you?"  
  
Sakura's smile turned to a sad smirk. "You know he can subject you to all sorts of punishments now, right? Including Gai and Lee."  
  
"Oh," Ino looked down. "I'm still coming over, though. Tonight for a late dinner. Eight."  
  
"I don't have any decent food at home," Sakura reminded, "I just got back from a two week-long turned six-week long mission."  
  
Ino cocked her head, "Oh yeah. Then I'm bringing tempura."  
  
"Bring enough for a lot of people, then," she answered. She had purposefully not mentioned her prior arrangements for the night in case Ino offered to bring her share. "And bring it to the only house with lights on in the old Uchiha complex. It's my team's gathering place after each time we all come home alive."  
  
"But you're the only one that was gone..."  
  
"Near-death experiences also count for parties. Besides, it was more than me out there. Just bring enough as a side for all of us. Sai is bringing ice cream. Naruto's bringing his usual. Tenzou is bringing the drinks. Kakashi usually brings the games. And I always bring the plates and such."  
  
Ino checked her watch. "Gotta get back. I'll see you at eight, right?"  
  
"We start at seven if you can make it," Sakura waved, turning to go out a back door, opposite the direction of the blond's destination. "See you there."


	4. Front Steps

He was sitting on her front steps.

It wasn't the man she wanted to see at all.  Once again, Uchiha Sasuke was nowhere to be found.  Instead, Hatake Kakashi was holding a piece of chalk in hand playing tic-tac-toe with a three-year-old.

"And look who's here!" Kakashi pointed directly at Sakura, though his attention never left the child.

"Mama!" Sakura's dark-haired angel nearly tumbled down the stairs in her haste.  Kakashi was quick to grab her little body before she took yet another nose-dive into concrete, help her regain her footing, and then let her go again.

"Hi, baby," Sakura smiled brightly as her daughter crashed into her legs, hugging her tight and jarring her injured leg roughly.  She smiled anyway.  "Oh, my!  You look like you've gotten bigger since I left, Sarada-chan!"

"Yeah, Granpa says I grew a whole six centemmenters!"

"He does?  Wow!" Sakura had to let go of one of her crutches to wipe away the building tears.  She missed this little one so much!

"What this?" Sarada grabbed hold of the crutch Sakura had released, but was still leaning on.  Once again, Kakashi had to step in, catching Sakura before she fell.

"Maybe we should get Mamma inside, eh?" Kakashi suggested.  "Can you take her bag inside so I can help her up the stairs?"

"Okay!" the child happily agreed, tugging the knapsack away and dragging it up the stairs, smudging the chalk from earlier all over the bottom of the bag.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Kakashi asked softly, so that only she could hear.

Sakura snatched back the crutch, suddenly eager to put some distance between them.  She didn't know why, but his touch was just a bit warmer than expected.  "I'll be fine.  Uh... thanks for looking out for Sarada-chan.  I appreciate it.  See you later tonight?"

"Who's watching Sarada tonight if we're getting together?"

"Eh, don't worry.  I already talked with Naruto.  The kids are coming this time."

"It's past their bed times, though."

"They can sleep down the hall if we keep our voices low enough long enough.  Jeeze, Kakashi-sensei, it's like you never baby-sat for us before!"

"Maybe because I haven't," he reminded.

"Well...  I'm sure you have things you need to do before this evening." Sakura made quickly for the stairs, taking a wild stab at how to get up them quickly, and failing.  Once again, balance was lost, and she was in his open arms.  "Damn it!"

Sakura jerked herself back to standing on her own again quickly.  Kakashi backed off.  Even without chakra to manipulate, she had sharp elbows with good aim.  Right now, she seemed likely to use them.

"I'm sorry," he said in a huff, catching her off guard.

"What?" she turned to face him, pausing in her efforts, and even ignoring the fact that he daughter was calling for her.

"I'm sorry I didn't actually speak with you while you were in the hospital."

"Oh... well.... I know how you hate hospitals, so...  Thanks for the flowers, I guess?  I mean, you were checking in.  You didn't just dump me there and run."

"No.  Never.  You are a precious person to me."  He seemed to catch himself in something, then quickly added.  "I can't let anything take any of you away."

Her daughter's calls were turning into frustrated yelling now.

"So, uh...  I have to go see what she's gotten into.  I'll see you guys later."

"Right.  Later."  Kakashi disappeared on the spot.


	5. Party Quiet-Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed a grammar issue in chapter 3. Noticed I've been spelling Tenzou as Tenzo or even Tenso, so I'll try to fix that.
> 
> Great, adding Sarada really messed with the original story way more than intended, and all of this is actually typed on the fly anyway, taking bits and pieces from the second re-write of the story that happened years ago.
> 
> Anyway, feel free to point out any grammar/spelling issues you see. Please point out anything too confusing, too. Some things will be left up to guessing for now. Wouldn't be much of a story without having questions to answer, now would it?

"So..." Ino sighed, looking around the dark, somewhat scary ruins of the old Uchiha complex.  Everything around them was lifeless except for random weeds.  Walls were crumbling, ceilings caved in, porches rotted.  "You want to explain to me why your team meets out here?  Or, how about why we're bringing our son to this creepy ghost town?  Or, better yet, why haven't you told me you've been meeting out here at all for the past few years?"

"I did tell you that we have these 'get-togethers' as they are called," Sai sighed.  "I simply neglected to tell you where when you asked because you were pregnant and there is a lot of alcohol usually associated with these things.  I did not believe you would enjoy being present, yet unable to participate."

Ino adjusted her one-year-old son on her back a bit, taking yet another disapproving look around.  "Is there even an intact building left?"

"There are several," Sai pointed ahead.  "Only one has power.  When Uchiha comes through, he makes time to make small improvements here and there.  Sakura manages the house with power the rest of the time."

"She doesn't live out here... or was that a lie, too?"

"No, she does not live here behind your back.  This place is for Uchiha Sasuke to come to if he does not want or have the time to see his daughter.  We have parties here to keep it from getting dusty."

"How sweet of you," Ino rolled her eyes, now noticing a small amount of light ahead.  It was just one dim porch light, but in the evening's darkness, it was a bright beacon.

* * *

"Odd, three or seven," Kakashi said before raising the basket away from the dice. It revealed a six and a two. Not even odd.  
  
"Pay up," Sakura smirked, holding her hand out to him...her battered one.

Kakashi didn't flinch. He refused to. It looked like a ton of rocks had smashed down on her, but he knew the truth.  He wondered just how much she remembered of her ordeal.  He wondered if she knew he had full access to her medical files now.  The fact that she wasn't able to heal herself, that the diamond marking on her forehead was missing, that none of the other medics could use their chakra to help her heal, it was all weighing heavily on him right now.  It was his fault she had been out there in the first place.

Naruto had commented on her lack of usable chakra the moment he came near her.  It was obvious that Hinata looked her over, yet the woman said nothing herself.  Instead, Hinata got Naruto distracted with setting up plates for everyone and making sure the three kids had a properly made up bed to crash on later.

Gently, he put the coins he owed her into her palm, careful not to touch her skin.  
  
"Your roll," Kakashi passed over the dice and small basket.  
  
"Odd, five or eleven," Sakura turned over the basket, then pulled it away quickly. "Ha! Eleven! Pay up again!"  
  
"Kuso!" Kakashi handed her the standard bet's worth again. "You're bleeding me dry, woman..."

At the other end of the table, Sai, Ino, and Tenzou were betting on cards.  Losers took two shots, winner took one.  It seemed Sai was the winner of the most rounds, as his cup had the most liquid left.

Naruto pushed Sai out of the way rather roughly, "Quit cheating, jerk."

"He's not the one cheating," Hinata giggled a little.  "Ino is helping him win."

"Sai, come win my money back from Sakura, will you?" Kakashi waved him over as Naruto and Hinata both sat to join in on cards.  "I need to get some fresh air before my wallet is completely empty."

Outside, he took a deep breath.  Sakura wasn't good.  She was clearly drinking far less than usual, and he could have blamed it on the fact that the kids, Inojin, Sarada, and Boruto, were in the next room wearing themselves out playing, but her pupils were pin pricks in the soft light of the lamps.  Pain killers it was, then.  It had been a month, and she was still medicated even while drinking.  Nobody would outright say it, but these changes in her were troubling all of them greatly.

Sasuke should have come back.  He should have been here to help her with his child while she fought to recover.  Kakashi had sent him a message describing her injuries and when she had received them.  Sasuke sent no reply.


	6. What is Love?

Sakura lay awake in bed, fingers drumming on her stomach.  Her mind would not let her rest despite the alcohol and opiates in her system.

She knew better, of course, than to take vicodin and drink, but she kept her levels of both low so that they didn't interact too badly and make her sick.  She'd kept her levels so low that neither should be the reason she was still awake at three in the morning.  Pain was there, aching in her legs, arms, whole body, really.  Yet, it was a dull ache, one far less than she had slept through before.

No.  What kept her awake was thinking about her husband.

Kakashi had said he sent Sasuke word about her condition the day after he brought her home.  He hadn't given all the details, but far more than enough to convince most men to either return home right away or go kick the asses of those responsible.  First off, in either case, Sasuke should have at least sent word that he'd gotten the message.  Yet, there was still no word.

Three days before Sakura was released from the hospital, Kakashi had sent messages to the other Kage and several Daimyo that, if they should learn of Sasuke's whereabouts, please report them to the Hokage's office for personal reasons.  He had to do a lot of assuring that Sasuke wasn't the cause of any more trouble.  Some took more convincing than others.

Where the hell was he?

The last time she'd seen him was when they'd brought Sarada to Konoha.  He'd spent a month helping her find a house, and a week later he was gone.

Then Kakashi re-entered her thoughts.

He came out there himself to get her.

She had been gone on a child sex-trafficking investigation, leaving Sarada in Ino's care, when she'd been caught.  Hell, she didn't know exactly when she'd been caught.  They'd already poisoned her, without leaving a trace, with some sort of chemical compound she didn't catch on to until it was too late.  With a last burst of effort, she'd activated the Strenght of a Hundred seal and depleted every ounce of chakra she'd had.  They waited at the edges of her range, and then shot her with darts from a distance.  She was so exhausted at that point, she blocked only a few of the needles.  Many, many pinpricks still showed their marks on her skin.

Things became a blur after that.  Time lost all meaning.  Little bits of images and sensations littered what little memory she had from that moment to the time she awoke in the hospital a week later.

It had been Kakashi, the one person who wasn't supposed to go on missions, however capable he may still be, who came and extracted her from Hell.

The reports in her file listed many broken bones, ruptured organs, contusions, head trauma, and...  and rape.

She was certainly glad not to remember that last bit.  She was more thankful that they'd cleaned up as much of the evidence as physically possible by the time she woke up.  Still, she felt the aftermath.  Not to mention, whatever they'd drugged her with refused to allow not only her own chakra to rebuild, but others' from helping her.

They made sure she would feel this if she survived, and survive she had.

But why had Kakashi come for her?  He should have sent someone else.  Any other tracker could have found her just as quickly.  Shino, Kiba, any Hyuuga, even Naruto.

Well, to be fair, Naruto would have brought the whole place down on top of her when he saw what she looked like.  Kiba and Akamaru would have, too.  Shino or a Hyuuga would be better suited.  Perhaps they were already on other missions?  What about other Aburame or Inuzaka?

Perhaps he came himself because he feared she might freak out and endanger her rescuer?  Yes, if she were still capable, yet disorientated, she probably would have lashed out.  Very few were quick enough to dodge her blows, and fewer, still, could anticipate them.

So, it was the logical conclusion after all, for the Hokage to go himself.  There wouldn't have been time to contact Sasuke.  Not that he would have even come, she now realized.

Why the hell did she still hold on to him?

He never actually married her.

He did put his name on Sarada's official birth certificate, and made sure the child carried the Uchiha name.

He never wrote.  He never checked in.

He did cuddle very close when they were together and alone.

He only sought to be near her when they were alone.

He kissed her like the world would end if their lips parted.

He never even let her hold his hand in public.

He always made sure she had food and rest.

He always thought she was too skinny, even when pregnant.

He always put her safety first in a fight.

He sometimes commented that she might not be up to it.

The man was full of so many contradictions.  Slowly, she realized that she'd had enough.  When she was strong, he called her weak.  Now that she truly was weak, he wouldn't protect her.  Whatever he may have felt for her, it wasn't love.  It certainly wasn't real love.

She had real love now, though.  Sakura had her daughter.  Love took a whole new meaning these past few years.  Never before had she understood unconditional love.  These days, even when Sarada wouldn't stop squalling after being told "No," Sakura still loved her child, spoiled little girl that she was.

Tomorrow, she promised silently, she would take Sarada out for ice cream.


	7. Chapter 7

Going out for ice cream was a bust.  The sky had opened up with a nasty, three hour long thunder storm.  Sarada was more worried about hiding under her blankets than anything else.

"You know..." Sakura rubbed a hand across her hidden daughter's back, "your father can use lightning.  Except, instead of thunder, it sounds like chirping birds.  It's something the Hokage taught him.  Maybe, one day, he can teach you, too."

"Why?"

Sakura smiled a little victory.  This was the first sound Sarada had uttered other than whimpering all morning.

"Because it scares the bad guys.  Think about it.  If lightning is so scary to you now, what happens when you control it?  Bad guys will run away from you, and you'll never have to fear the thunder again.  You can be the lightning and the thunder!"

"So... is kage-sama mad right now?  Is he making the lightning and thunder?"

"He's probably sleeping through it," Sakura laughed lightly.

* * *

Sleeping through the storm was certainly not an option for Hatake Kakashi.

He'd summoned the pack of ninkin to hang out over night.  This morning's bout of rain and lightning had all of them huddled around him in the bed, whining and quivering.  Bull was laying on his chest, making it extremely difficult to breathe.  Sure, they all trusted him when he used his elemental chakra; it was a whole other thing when it wasn't in his control.  They really, really didn't like it then.

He couldn't send them back to their realm.  They would go back to their respective mates stinking of fear and have to explain themselves to a bunch of nosy, over protective bitches, three of which were in heat, two of the others already pregnant.  Then the bitches would summon themselves to Kakashi and chew him out for this.  Nope.  Not going to deal with that.  Instead, they'd have to wait out the storm, and then he'd have to bathe them all.  Each one was responsible for lying to his bitch; he'd have to tell her that Kakashi had just treated them all to a day of fun and baths.  Nothing more, nothing less, no details.

He didn't even bother thinking about going to the office today.  Tenzou would be around soon enough to look for him... after the storm passed.  Lightning tended to hit awfully close to him, so he generally stayed indoors during a thunderstorm.  With the sound of the howling winds that came with this one, Kakashi doubted anybody else would brave going outside to come find him.

Well, there was _one_ person who might be sent.  However, he was probably sleeping right on through it, the way Kakashi wished he was right now.  Naruto loved the wind, had plenty of practice dodging lightning (sparring with both Kakashi and Sasuke when he was around), and didn't fear the sound of thunder (it just reminded him of the sound of Sakura splitting the earth open).

* * *

Naruto curled closely into Hinata's pillow, praying his son would stop digging his heels into his back.  The kid sure could kick every time thunder rumbled.  Between bouts of thunder, he could hear Hinata arguing on the phone with her sister, Hanabi's name being the only thing he made out clearly before Hinata's voice quieted a little.

Ugh.

Another kick to his spine.

Naruto had enough.  Getting up, he tucked his son in again then got dressed.  He'd go see how Sakura was doing.  He hadn't checked on her in a couple days and wondered if anyone else had.  Quickly explaining to Hinata where he was going, Naruto put on his rain jacket and took off at a jog.

It seemed the storm was coming to its worst as he let himself into Sakura's home.  No way was she going to hear a knock over the constant rumble outside.

He was glad he'd let himself in.

On the floor in the hall lay a bundle of blankets.  Sarada was whimpering and crying, begging Sakura to wake up even as the toddler herself tried tucking the blankets around her mother... her unconscious mother.


End file.
